Supreme shooting accuracy propelled the Logan County Cougars to their first bullseye of this basketball season, an impressive victory in the opening round of the Class 2A Sectional at home Monday. Their prize is a berth in the upcoming sectional finals.

Coach Josh Frick’s team not only shot well from the field but also featured a balanced scoring attack that found five Cougars scoring nine or more points, a total of 11 players putting points on the board, and a dozen players grabbing rebounds, with three of them tying for the team lead.

The Cougars evened their season record at 2-2 by crushing Hart County 89-61.

They hit 27 of 40 two-point goals for 67.5 percent, 8 of 18 three-pointers for 42.1 percent, and overall for 59.3 percent. Their free throw shooting wasn’t exceptional, but it wasn’t bad at 61.1 percent (11 of 18).

One reason the Cougars got off so many shots is they pulled down 39 rebounds. Jeremiah Washington, Davis Switzer and Jaxon Tichenor each had 7 boards, followed by Joseph McTire, Jonathan Baker and Maliq Ford with 3 each. Also credited with rebounds were Christian Helle, Braden Little, Silas Berneir, Elijah Sells and Kaleb Setles.

As is often the case, junior Davis Switzer led the scoring with 20 points. He hit 6 of 10 two-pointers, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 5 of 7 free throws. Seniors Washington and Tichenor scored 15 points each. Washington hit 4 of 6 from short range and Tichenor while Tichenor duplicated that from long range. McTire, a freshman, was solid, going 6 of 7 from the field on the way to 13 points. Ford, a junior, added 8 points.

Also scoring were Helle, Baker, Bernier, Damani Goodle, Sells and Little,

For the Raiders, Jacob Shoulders scored 17, Caden Nunn 14 and Kannan Allen 11.

 Cougars 74, Butler County 64

The Cougars’ first win came Dec. 9 at Butler County. The team’s depth played a big role in this one, too, with ten players scoring and nine pulling down rebounds.

Still, Switzer had a sensational outing, scoring team-highs of 29 points and 10 rebounds. In the Cougars’ first five games, he’s averaging 21.6 points per game and 7.4 rebounds. In this win, he hit 4 of 7 three-pointers, 5 of 8 two-pointers, and 7 of 8 free throws.

Ford also hit 5 of 8 two-pointers on the way to 13 points. Washington scored 8 points, Little 7 and Tichenor 5. Also scoring were Helle, Sells, Goodloe, Baker and Mctire.

In addition to Switzer’s four three-pointers. Little both of his three-point tries while Tichenor and Sells went 1 for 2 and Ford 1 for 3.

It was another good shooting night for the Cougars. They hit  of 28 two-pointers (58 percent), 10 of 22 three-pointers  (45.5 percent), and 12 of 20 free throws (60 percent),

Chris Murphy led Coach Dustin Barnett‘s Bears with 26 points. Cainan Vincent added 15 and Cooper Embry 10.